Sharks migrate to Hawaii to feast on fledgling seabirds

The summertime arrival of young seabirds in the northwestern Hawaiian Archipelago attracts fierce competition among sharks. But shifting bird populations could alter this important link in the marine food ecosystem. Researchers found in a study published recently in Ecosphere that fledgling albatross drive habitat shifts among species like tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier), which often muscle out smaller gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) for access to waters near seabird colonies in the French Frigate Shoals. But events like Hurricane Walaka, which hit the area in 2018, can destroy nesting habitat, causing a cascading problem in the ecosystem that affects the makeup of marine species.

Read more at the University of Hawai’i News.